Objective:

To explore the clinical effect of unilateral biportal endoscopic-assisted transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (UBE-TLIF) in the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation (RLDH).

Methods:

The clinical data of 44 patients with RLDH treated by UBE-TLIF in our hospital from August 2020 to December 2020 were analysed retrospectively. The study indicators included intraoperative blood loss, operation time, bed rest time, and hospital stay. The follow-up data included the visual analogue score (VAS) of low back pain, Japanese Orthopaedic Association score (JOA), Oswestry disability index (ODI) score, and the short form 36 health survey questionnaire (SF-36) score preoperatively and 1 week and 6 months postoperatively.

Results:

The average operation time was 179.15 ± 42.06 minutes, the average intraoperative blood loss was 132.67 ± 41.92 ml, the average bed rest time was 1.51 ± 0.42 days, and the average hospital stay was 4.82 ± 1.13 days. The VAS score of low back pain after the operation was lower than that before the operation (all P<0.0001). The ODI score, JOA score, and SF-36 scores at postoperative follow-up were significantly different from those before the operation (P<0.05). The satisfaction rate was 86.4% at 7 days after the operation and 95.4% at 6 months after the operation. The proportion of significant clinical efficacy was 18.2% (postoperative day 7) and 63.6% (postoperative month 6).

Conclusions:

UBE-TLIF has the advantages of a rapid recovery, less intraoperative blood loss, a short bed rest and hospital stay, and a good medium-term clinical effect. It is a safe, reliable minimally invasive technique for surgical treatment of RLDH.